Procedural (genre)
Encyclopedia
A Procedural is a cross-genre
type of literature
, film
, or television program
involving a sequence of technical detail. A documentary film
may be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative
interest.
. These shows tend to be hour-long dramas
, and are often (though not always) police or crime related.
The general formula for a police procedural involves the commission or discovery of a crime at the beginning of the episode, the ensuing investigation, and the arrest or conviction of a perpetrator at the end of the episode.
The best known examples of this genre are the Law & Order
and CSI
franchises. House
is an example of a non-crime-related procedural.
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
type of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, or television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
involving a sequence of technical detail. A documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
may be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
interest.
Fiction
In television, "procedural" specifically refers to a genre of programs in which a problem is introduced, investigated and solved all within the same episodeEpisode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
. These shows tend to be hour-long dramas
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
, and are often (though not always) police or crime related.
The general formula for a police procedural involves the commission or discovery of a crime at the beginning of the episode, the ensuing investigation, and the arrest or conviction of a perpetrator at the end of the episode.
The best known examples of this genre are the Law & Order
Law & Order franchise
The Law & Order franchise is a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and originally broadcast on NBC, all of which deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system...
and CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
franchises. House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
is an example of a non-crime-related procedural.
- Procedural dramas are generally very popular in broadcast syndication because the lack of long-term storylines makes it easier for viewers to tune in for just one episode without feeling lost.
- Procedurals are sometimes criticized for their lack of characterCharacter (arts)A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
development, with little attention being paid to the lives of the recurring characters outside of their jobs.
Non-Fiction
- Non-fiction scienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
procedurals such as the PBS Secrets of the Dead series or Court TVCourt TVtruTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
's Forensic FilesForensic FilesForensic Files is an American documentary-style series which reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and even outbreaks of illness. The show is broadcast on truTV, narrated by Peter Thomas, and produced by Medstar Television, in association with truTV...
take a viewer step-by-step through an investigation, much like a fictional procedural.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/
Literature
- Police proceduralPolice proceduralThe police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
: the best known variety, a large sub-genre of mystery fictionMystery fictionMystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
. Lawrence TreatLawrence TreatLawrence Arthur Goldstone , better known by his pseudonym, Lawrence Treat, was an American mystery writer, a pioneer of the genre of novels that became known as police procedurals. A practicing lawyer before turning to writing, he was a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America and a...
's 1945 novel V as in Victim is cited as perhaps the first "true" police procedural.http://www.mysteryguide.com/hist-police.html - Military procedural: a term used by Publishers Weekly in 1989http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671676687 referring to Ralph PetersRalph PetersRalph Peters is a retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel andauthor. As a novelist he has sometimes written under the pen name Owen Parry.-Personal:...
' novel Red ArmyRed Army (novel)Red Army is a military Cold War-era novel written by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Ralph Peters in 1989. The book considered a World War III scenario involving a Soviet attack on West Germany across the North German Plain.-Plot summary:... - War procedural: an example is the film The Dam BustersThe Dam Busters (film)The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd and directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany with Wallis's...
, 1955, which was called a war procedural by Richard Gilliam in Allmovie.http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000H1RFSM- Tom ClancyTom ClancyThomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
's novels are sometimes called war procedurals or political procedurals.
- Tom Clancy
- Science procedural: Science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels or stories may have sequences of scientific procedure. An example would be TimescapeTimescapeTimescape is a 1980 novel by science fiction writer Gregory Benford . It won the 1980 Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards, and the 1981 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel...
, written by the scientist and author Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
. - A relatively recent subgenre is the Presidential procedural; a novel which focuses on the office of the US Presidency, and the activities of its occupant. Examples would be Executive OrdersExecutive OrdersExecutive Orders is a political and military thriller novel by Tom Clancy. It was published in 1996, and is a canonical part of the Jack Ryan universe.-Plot summary:...
by Tom ClancyTom ClancyThomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
, The President's Plane Is Missing by Robert Serling, and Maximum Vigilance by Steve PieczenikSteve PieczenikSteve Pieczenik, MD, PhD is an American psychiatrist, former State Department official, author and publisher.-Early Life and Education:...
.